On the 22nd of January, 2014, at the 2014 Washington Auto Show, Green Car Journal will announce the winner of the 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year Award.
Until then, we’ve been offering insight into these technologies, ten nominees, to be exact, and what they could mean for the future of automobile transportation. So far, we’ve seen technological contributions from Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, and Ford. Today, we’ll take a look at the Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Powertrain, which has already won the 2014 Green Car of the Year Award, at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The Honda Accord PHEV Powertrain fits very well into the green car scheme of things, as well as making it as one of the ten nominees for Green Car Journal’s 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year Award. This isn’t the first hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) that Honda has offered, but previous generations of Honda HEV technology were decidedly more performance-oriented than efficiency-oriented. For 2014, the Honda Accord PHEV powertain is decidedly more efficient at 46mpg (miles per gallon) and, in EV mode, 115mpge (mpg equivalent), a number only bested by the Honda FIT EV.
In spite of these impressive fuel economy numbers, the Honda Accord PHEV is still a joy to drive, accelerating from 0-60mph (miles per hour) in just 7.7 seconds. Now that Fisker Karma is dead or dying, the Honda Accord PHEV is the quickest PHEV you can buy. This is the kind of green car technology that people are looking for. Gone is the time that HEVs and PHEVs were hypermiler oddities, and now is the time we can find an efficient vehicle that performs just as well, or better, than the conventional vehicles we’re used to.
Image © American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
